Choosing a WordPress theme can be a daunting task. There are thousands of themes available, both free and paid, making it tough to decide which one is best for you.

After all, your theme is crucial. It determines how your WordPress website will appear to users and how you will represent your brand to the billions of globa l internet users who may visit your website.

You should think of your website as the shopfront for your company, so it should be appealing and on-brand.

While you can change your theme later, getting into the nitty gritty early on helps you save time. Choosing the proper one from the start is therefore critical.

1. List Your Requirements

The first step in choosing a WordPress theme is determining what you want from your theme. Take the time to consider the goals of your WordPress website. Is it necessary, for example, to establish a blog page?

Do you want to insert a video? Are you going to provide sign-ups or collect client information?

Once you've determined what you require from your theme, you can begin shortlisting prospective possibilities.

After all, there's no point in looking at WordPress themes unless you know what you need them to do.

It's also worth considering the type of budget you're working with at this point.

There are free theme options available, and if your criteria are quite simple, you may find that your ideal theme is completely free.

Paid-for themes, on the other hand, vary in price, and the cost of feature-rich WordPress theme options can soon rise.

An excellent piece of advice is to assess the themes of existing WordPress websites that are similar to what you want to build - and that operate within your area.

  • What do you enjoy?
  • What do you think could be done better?

This will assist you in creating your theme 'checklist' and working from there.

2. Choose a Responsive WordPress Theme

A responsive theme appears and behaves the same way on a mobile device as it does on a desktop.

A remarkable 92.6% of the world's 4.66 billion active internet users access the internet via mobile devices. As a result, if your theme isn't responsive, you'll be missing out on a lot of potential traffic.

A responsive theme ensures that every visitor to your website, regardless of how they reach it, has a positive experience, increasing their likelihood of returning.

Another reason why a responsive theme is essential Google said in 2019 that it would transition to "mobile-first" indexing. This means that the search engine will index and rank your website based on its mobile version.

If it isn't up to scratch, you won't be able to appear in Google's search results.

3. Opt for a Simple WordPress Theme

An all-star design with intriguing features and quirks can easily sway you when choosing a WordPress theme.

Remember that you're creating a WordPress website for your target audience. If your theme has too much going on, you'll end up confusing your audience.

They won't be able to find the content they're searching for, and they'll leave (often finding what they need on another website!).

While having a visually appealing website is crucial, keep in mind what your website's major goals are, and make sure the theme you chose isn't impeding your online goals.

4. Customizable WordPress Themes

One of the best things about using WordPress for your website is that practically every theme can be customized to look precisely as you want it to.

Customizing your theme will allow you to add your brand to your website, ensuring that your company's colors and style are consistent across all pages.

Choosing a customizable theme also means that you have complete control over which pages your website contains.

5. Read Feedbacks and Reviews

When purchasing anything online, it is usually a good idea to read the reviews, and purchasing a WordPress theme is no exception. After all, those reviews are there for a reason, so use them to help you make a selection.

The last thing you want to do is download and install a theme only to find out it's outdated or contains malicious content. Low-quality or out-of-date themes might expose your website to cyberattacks while also affecting performance elements such as page load speed.

6. WordPress Themes Supporting Plugins

If you want to provide the finest functionality and user experience, you should choose a theme that supports WordPress plugins.

WordPress plugins can help you improve your website's look and performance, among other things. Yoast SEO, Jetpack, WooCommerce, and WP Forms are some of the most popular and useful WordPress plugins.

It's a good idea to ensure that any theme you choose supports these WordPress plugins, as well as any others you feel are necessary for your site.

7. Regularly Updated

Any theme you choose for your WordPress website should be frequently updated. Because core WordPress software is always being improved, you want to make sure that the developers of your theme keep it up-to-date.

Themes must be updated on a regular basis in order to fix any bugs or security risks and to ensure that the theme is working at peak performance.

When it comes to theme updates, a decent rule of thumb is to choose a theme that has been updated within the last six months.

This timeframe suggests that the developer updates the theme frequently, so you can be sure that you won't be installing anything that is already out of date on your website.

Choosing a WordPress Theme

There are dozens of WordPress themes available, which might be confusing. But keep in mind that the theme you choose will have a significant impact on your WordPress website, so choose wisely.

Choosing a WordPress theme involves more than just picking one that looks good. It involves functionality, brand awareness, and so much more.